Parcel-assorting device



June 18,1929. o s; 1.718.087

PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 9, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS:

June 18, 1929. J sous 1.718.087

PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Feb. .9, 1928 4 Snow-Sheet 2 WITNESS; ATTORNEY June 18, 1929. R SQUSA PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 9. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS:

June 18, 1929. J. R. SOUSA PARCEL AS'SORTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 9, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y %VEN OR WITNESS:

Patented June 18, 1929.

'UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JOHN R. SOUSA, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF'COLUMBIA.

PARCEL-ASSORTING DEVICE.

Application filed February 9, 1928. Serial No. 253,124.

the wiring system used in the before mentioned application.

Another object of the invention is to providea reversing switch for the circuit of the motor, with means at each end of the track operated by the carriage for breaking the circuit to the motor to cause the carriage to come to rest and means actuated by the carriage.

passing a rake, which has previously been moved to raised position by key operated means, to move the switch to reverse the motor so that the carriage will return to its front or normal position.

A still further object of the invention is to place the receptacles for receiving the parcels or bundles from the carriages on the floor, one row of receptacles being arranged under the lower track and the other to one side thereof, with chutes for causing the parcels delivered by the upper carriage to pass into the outer row of receptacles.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings an d specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention indetail, reference will be had to the accoi'i'ipanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. and in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the invention.

Figure 2 is a View of the front end thereof.

Figure 3 is a view of the side opposite to that shown in Figure 1. p

Figure 4; is a fragmentary enlarged view partly in section of the rear end of the device.

Figure 5 is a plan View showing parts of Figure 4-. v

Figure 6 is a sectional view through one of the switch boxes.

Figure 7 is a side view of parts of the key actuated means.

p '3 such means.

F i ure 8 is a plan view, partly in. section, of

Figure 9 is a view showing how one of the rakes 1s held in raised position by the latch member. s

Figure 10 is aview of the latch member with its supportingbracket.

V Figure llis a perspective View showing some of the rakes, their cables and portions of 1 the bell cranks at the rear end ofthe device.

F1gure-12 is a View of the shock absorbing I means at the front of the device.

The drawings show a device comprising two units A and B supported one above the other in a frame 1, but it will, of course, be understood that as many units may be provided as desired, and as the units are similar in construction and operation, but one unit will be described.

A row of receptacles 2 is placed under the unit A to receive the'parcels or other objects sorted by this unit anda second row of receptacles 3 is placed to one side of the row 2, on an extension 1 of the lower part of the frame 1 to receive the parcels from the upper unit 13, chutes 4 being provided between the upper and. lower units to direct the parcels from the upper unit into the receptacles of the row 3. The drawings show these receptacles in the form of bags or sacks but it will, of course, be understood that other forms of receptacles may be-used instead of the sacks.

Each unit comprises a track consisting of the rails 5 supported by the side members of the frame and a carriage 6 which has its wheels 7 engaging the track, the carriage having a slotted depending L-shaped part (i on which the parcels or objects to be sorted are placed. A pair of cables 8 each has one end fastened to the front of the carriage and its other end fastened to the rear of the carriage, the connection between the cables and carriage being preferably an adjustable one, as shown at 9. The cables pass over pulleys 10 at the front end of the frame and over pulleys 11 at the rear end of the frame, these latter pulleys being carried by a shaft 12 ournaled in the frame and having a gear 13 thereon which meshes with a pinion 14 on the shaft of a motor 15-which is supported on a plat form 16 at the rear of the frame. This motor is a reversing one so that it will actuate the shaft 12to cause the cables to move the carriage back: and forth over the tracln I 3.9 and 26 to which the conduetors 21 forming portion of the motor circuit are connected. The contact is a spring one and normally engages the contact 19 to hold the circuit closed and this contact 20 carries a button 22 which extends through a hole in the top of the casing and a spring strip 23 fastened to the top of the casing is adapted to be engaged by the carriage when the same nears the front end of the track so that this strip is pushed downwardly by the carriage to depress the button 22 and thus open the switch to break the circuit to the motor so that the carriage will come to rest at the front end of the track. As shown in Figure 6, the conductors pass through the tubular bracket.

A similar switch box or casing 24 is arranged at the rear end of the track, this casing being pivotally supported on a tubular bracket 25 which is fastened to a switch box 26 fastened to the rear part of the frame and this casing 24 has a weight 27 attached to its lower part. The two casings 17 and 24 are connected together by a cable 28 which passes over a pulley 29, the parts being so arranged that the weighted casing 24 will cause the cable 28 to hold the casing 17 in raised position so that the carriage can engage the spring strip 23 to open the switch. However, when the switch box or casing 24 is raised, the cable will slacken so that the box or casing 17 will drop under the action of gravity and thus move its spring strip 23 out of the path of the carriage. It will thus be seen that when the carriage approaches either end of the track, it will open a switch so as to break the circuit to the motor so that the carriage will come to a stop.

The box or casing 26 contains a pair of contacts 30 and a pair of contacts 31 and a double switch arm 32 which, in one position, will bridge the contacts 30 and in another position, will bridge the contacts 31. \Vhen the switch arm is in engagement with the contacts 30, the current is reversed to the motor so that the motor actuates the cables in such a manner as to cause the carriage to move toward the front of the track and when the switch arm is in engagement with the contacts 31, the motor operates to move the carriage from the front of the track toward the rear thereof.

A plate 33 is hinged to the frame at the top of the box or casing 26 and. rods 34 connect the plate with a sleeve on an arm of a bell crank 36 pivoted to a part in the casing 26 and having its rounded end engaging a bracket 37 on the box or casing 24 so that when the plate is lifted, the bell crank will also be lifted, which will lift the casing 24 on its pivot 25. As before stated, this upward movement of the casing will slacken the cable 28 so that the front casing 17 will drop from under the carriage, thus closing the circuit to the motor. Th1s upward movement of the parts 18 also cominunicated to the switch arm 32 as the other arm of the bell crank is connected with the upper part of the switch arm by the bracket 37 so that said arm engages the contacts 31 and moves out of engagement with the contacts 30. Thus the arriuge moves forwardly and if it should continue to the end of the track, it would strike the spring strip 23 of the rear casing 24, as said casing is in raised position and thus open the switch in said casing 24 and break the circuit to the motor so that the carriage would come to rest at the rear end of the track.

A rake device 38 is pivoted to the frame over each receptacle of the unit A and over each chute section of the unit B. The prongs of each device are adapted to pass through the slots of the depending portion of the carriage, when the rake device is in raised position, to cause the parcels or articles in the carriage to drop from the carriage into the receptacle, the parcels from the carriage of unit B sliding down the chute 4 into a receptacle 3, while those from the carriage of unit A drop directly into a receptacle 2. Each rake device is provided with. an arm 39 towhich a cable 40 is connected, the cable being also connected with a bell crank 41, the bell cranks 41 being pivoted to the supports 42 arranged adjacent the switch box 26 and one arm of each bell crank extends under the plate 33 so that when any one of the bell cranks is rocked by its cable, the plate 33 will be lifted so as to actuate the switch parts, as before described.

Each cable is connected at its front end to a bell crank 43, these bell cranks being pivoted in a frame 44 connected with the front end of the main frame and each bell crank 43 is connected by a link 45 with a long arm of a bell crank 46 pivoted in the frame 44 and the short arm of each bell c 'ank 46 is adapted to be engaged by the short arm of a bell crank 47 having its long arm projecting through a slot in the front end of the frame 44, with a key 48 on the end of this projecting arm. These key bell cranks 47 are each pivoted to a rod 49 supported from the inner face of the front end of the frame 44. Thus by pushing upon one of the keys 48, the bell crank 47 will be rocked and its short arm will actuate the bell crank 46 and this bell crank 46, through the link 45, will rock the bell crank 43 and thus exert a pull upon the cable 4 which is attached to said bell crank 43. Thus the cable 40 will raise the rake device with which it is connected and at the same time the cable will rock the bell crank 41 and cause the same to raise the plate 33 so as to move the switch parts to close the circuit to the motor and cause the same to pull the carriage along the track toward the rear of the device. As the rake device is raised, one of the prongs thereof will engage a latch 50 pivoted to a bracket 51 attached to a part of the frame 1 and thus the rake device will be held in raised posi tion even though the finger is removed from thekey L8. The latch will not only hold the rake device in raised position, but it will also hold the switch arm 32 against the contacts 31. As the switch box 24L at the rear of the device moves upwardly, the switch box17 at the front of the device will move downwardly from under the carriage so that the contact 20 in said box 17 will engage the contact 19 and thus the circuit will be closed through the switch and the front box 17 and through the switch in the box 26, so that the carriage will move toward the rear of the device until it passes over the rake device which 'has'been raised. The prongs of the rake device will push the articles from the carriage and deposit them in the receptacle and as the carriage passes the rake device, a cam 52 thereon will strike a'projecting part 53 of the latch 50, thus raising the latch so that the rake device will be released and said device will drop back'to its normal inactive position. This will slacken the cable which is attached to the rake device so that the weighted box 24 will drop and thus move the switch arm 32 away from the contacts 81 and against the contacts 30 so that the motor will be reversed and thereby cause the cables to return the carriage to the front of the device. As the carriage passes over the front switch box 17, it will cause the spring strip 23 to depress the button 22 and thus open the switch and break the circuit to the motor so that the carriage will come to rest If the rake device should fail to drop to its inactive position when the carriage engages the latch, the carriage would continue toward the rear of the device until it struck the spring strip 23 of the switch box 17, thus opening the switch in said box 17 and breaking the circuit to the motor so that the carriage would come to rest at the rear of the device. This is simply a safety means to prevent damage to the parts if a rake device should fail to function. If this should occur, it would be necessary to pull the carriage toward the front of the device by hand in order to re lease the switch so that the motor could re turn the carriage to its starting point.

Thus it will be seen thatthe operator, by depressing a key 48, can have the carriage pass to any desired rake device to deposit the articles on the carriage in the desired receptacle and then the carriage will return to its starting point. It is simply necessary for I the operator to depress the proper key. Identification means for each key may be arranged at the front of the apparatus under each row of keys, as shown at 54.

I also provide shockabsorbing means for checking the movement of the carriage as it nears the front end of the track'on its return movement, such means comprising an endless 7 frame, a projection 58 on the chain being which is regulated by a set screw The carriage carries a projection 64 which is adapted to strike the projection 58 as the carriage nears the limit of its return movement so that the dashpot arrangement acts as a check to the movement of the carriage and gradually brings the same to a stop. In order to return the piston of the dashpot to its original position, I provide a pivoted member 65 on the endless chain which is in front of the projection 58. This member is so arranged that when its short arm is struck by the projection 64 on the return movement of the carriage, it will rock on its pivot and permit the projection Get to pass it and thus engage the projection 58, but on the forward movement of the carriage, the projection 64: will strike the short arm of the member 65 and asn'iovenient of said member prevented by its'tail resting against the chain, the projection 64L will push the member and therefore the chain over the rear sprocket 56 until the projection 6 f can pass over the member. This will return the piston of the dashpot to the rear end of the cylinder.

Acable tightening device 66 is provided for each cable and is arranged at the rear of each rail of each track.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of my invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that I may make changes in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

, What I claim is 1. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame,'a track thereon. a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable for drawing the carriage along the track, a reversing motor for actuating the cable, transfer means arranged at intervals along the track for removing objects from the carriage when such' means are in active position, a circuit for the motor, a

switch in the circuit and opened by the carriage when the carriage is in its forward position, manually operated means for actuating the transfer means, a reversingswitch in the circuit actuated from said manually operated means for causing the carriage to return to its starting point after the transfer means have removed the articles from the carriage and meansassociated with the re versing switch for closing the first mentioned switch when the same is operated by the man- .ual means. i

2. A device of the class ing asupporting frame, a track thereon. a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable for drawing the carriage along described comprisated with the reversing switch for closing the first mentioned switch when the same is operated by the manual means and means on the carriage for causing the transfer means to return to inactive position after the carriage passes the same.

3. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable for drawing the carriage along the track, a reversing motor for actuating the cable, transfer means arranged at intervals along the track for removing objects from the carriage when such means are in active position, a circuit for the motor, a switch in the circuit and opened by the carriage when the carriage is in its forward position, manually operated means for actuating the transfer means, a reversing switch in the circuit actuated from said manually operated means for causing the carriage to return to its starting point after the transfer means have removed the articles from the carriage, means associated with the reversing switch for closing the first mentioned switch when the same is operated by the manual means, means on the carriage for causing the" transfer means to return to inactive position after the carriage passes the same, and a circuit closing switch at the rear end of the track opened by the carriage if the carriage should accidentally pass the transfer means and be drawn to the rear end of the track. 7

4. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable for drawing the carriage along the track, a reversing motor for actuating the cable, transfer means arranged at intervals along the track for removing objects from the carriage when such means are in active position, a circuit for the motor, a switch. in. the circuit and opened by the carriage when the carriage is in its forward position, manually operated means for actuating the transfer means, a reversing switch in the circuit actuated from said manually operated means for causing the carriage to return to its starting point after the transfer means have removed the articles from the carriage, means associated with the reversing switch for the first mentioned switch when the same is operated by the manual means, means on the carriage for causing the transfer means to return to inactive position after the carriage passes the same, a circuit 010- ing switch at the rear end of the track opened by the carriage if the carriage should accidentally pass the transfer means and be drawn to the rear end of the track, and receiving means for receiving the objects removed from the carriage by the transfer means.

5. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable having its ends connected to the *arriage, pulleys over which the cable passes, a reversing motor for rotating some of the pulleys to cause the cable to move the carriage back and forth upon the track, a plurality of rake devices arranged at intervals along the track and pivoted to the frame, manually operated means for raising anyone of said rake devices to cause the device to remove a parcel from the carriage as the carriage passes the device, a reversing switch arranged in the circuit of the motor, means for moving said. switch to active position when a rake device is raised, latch means for holding each rake device in raised position, means on the carriage for releasing the latch means as the carriage passes the same so as to reverse the switch to reverse the current to the motor to cause the cable to return the carriage to its starting point and a circuit closing switch at the front end of the device opened by the carriage to cause the carriage to come to rest at the front end. of the device.

6. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable having its ends connected to the carriage, pulleys over which the cable passes, a reversing motor for rotatin some of the pulleys to cause the cable to move the carriage back and forth upon the track, aplurality of rake devices arranged at intervals along the track and pivoted to the frame, manually operated. means for raising any one. of said rake devices to cause the device to remove a parcel from the carriage as the carriage passes the device, a reversing switch arranged in the circuit of the motor, means for moving said switch to active position when a rake device is raised, latch means for holding each rake device in raised. position, means on the car riage for releasing the latch means as the carriage passes the same so as to reverse the switch to reverse the current to the motor to cause the cable to return the carriage to its starting point, a circuit closing switch at the front end of the device opened by the carriage to cause the carriage to come to rest at the front end of the device and shock absorbing means at the front end of the track engaged by the carriage its return movement,

7 A device of the class described comprisin g a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable having its ends connected to the carriage, pulleys over which the cable passes, a reversing motor for rotating some of the pulleys to cause the cable to move the carriage back and forth upon the track, a plurality of rake devices arranged at intervals along the track and pivoted to the frame, manually operated means for raising any one'of said rake devices to cause the device to remove a parcel from the carriage as the carriage passes the device, a reversing switch arranged in the circuit of the motor, means for moving said switch to active position when a rake device is raised, latch means for holding each rake device in raised position, means on the carriage for releasing the latch mearis as the carriage passes the same so as to reverse the switch to reverse the current to the motor to cause the cable to return the carriage to its starting point, a circuit closing switch at the front end of the device opened by the carriage to cause the carriage to come to rest at the front end of the device and means associated with the reversing switch for closing the circuit closing switch at the front end of the devicewhen said reversing switch is operated by the raising of a rake device.

8. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a track thereon, a carriage having its wheels engaging the track, a cable having its ends connected with the front and rear of the carriage, guiding pulleys for the cable, a reversing motor connected with some of the pulleys for causing the cable to move the carriage over the track, a circuit for the motor, a reversing switch in the circuit and arranged at the rear of the track, a pivoted switch box arranged adjacent the switch, means for raising the boX when the switch is in one position, a circuit closing switch in the box adapted to be moved to open position by the carriage when the carriage reaches the end of the track, a switch box pivotally supported at the front end of the track, a circuit closing switch therein adapted to he moved to open position by the car riage when the carriage is at the front end of the track, a cable connecting the switch boxes together, a weight on the rear switch box for causing the same to stretch the cable to hold the front box raised, said front box moving from under the carriage when the rear box is raised so that the switch in said front box will close, a plurality of rake devices arranged under the track and pivotally connected. with the frame, a cable connected with each device, manually operated means for actuating the cables to raise any desired rake device to cause the same to remove articles from the carriage when the carriage passes said device, means actuated by each cable for moving the reversing switch and the rear switch box when a rake device is raised to cause the motor operated cable to move the carriage toward the rear of the device, latch means for holding each rake device in raised position, and means on the carriage for releasing, the latchmeans to permit the rake device to drop,

thus slackening its cable and causing the re versing switch to move to its other position JOHN R. SOUSA. 

